Donor Services Specialist

Your Role:

As the Donor Services Specialist, you will serve as the anchor of the Advancement team's work to cultivate and grow meaningful relationships with Strathmore's donors and prospects. This role offers hands-on experience across all areas of fundraising, with opportunities for professional growth. If you are eager to build a career in nonprofit fundraising and thrive at the intersection of data, operations, and donor relationships, this role is your foundation.

Gift Processing & Data Management

• Ownership of daily gift processing in Tessitura, Strathmore's CRM. Process contributions and pledges, collaborating with gift officers to ensure accuracy.

• Manage contributions across various charitable giving vehicles and payment methods, such as matching gifts, donor advised funds, stock, in-kind, and electronic funds transfer.

• Coordinate list uploads and email communications through the Double the Donation platform.

• Act as a Tessitura superuser by handling tasks like updating donor accounts, reconciling data, processing gift adjustments, and making sure funds, campaigns, and source codes are current.

• Partner with Strathmore's Database Administrator to maintain the integrity of donor data, troubleshooting issues and coordinating the annual fiscal year changeover.

• Liaise with the Tessitura Network to improve Advancement workflow needs and issues.

• Generate and review different reports and lists, such as the weekly contribution reports and recognition lists.

• Launch automated digital acknowledgements, with an emphasis on efficiency and accuracy.

• Maintain process documentation to establish and reinforce operational continuity and sustainability.

• Analyze current workflows and implement ways to streamline manual and repetitive tasks.

• Support the exploration and potential launch of a monthly giving program, including ongoing operations if implemented.

• Participate in training to stay current on system capabilities and fundraising best practices.

Financial Operations & Compliance

• Track fundraising progress against budgeted goals, leverage Tessitura Analytics to surface trends and support strategic planning.

• Act as the department liaison to the Finance team for check logs, monthly reconciliations, and general advancement accounting responsibilities.

• Generate and review different reports and lists, such as the weekly contributions reports and recognition lists.

• Organize and maintain all gift documentation, donor files, and departmental records.

• Support the Finance team during the annual audit by supplying requested materials.

• Work with Gift Officers to create and send monthly pledge reminders.

• Prepare the Vice President of Advancement's monthly credit card statement in Concur, gathering receipts from the team and applying appropriate expense coding.

Communication & Collaboration

• Coordinate the timely preparation and mailing of donor acknowledgements ensuring the correct language is used.

• Assist the Individual Giving Manager on direct mail, from list preparation through mailing.

• Serve as the VP of Advancement's Moves Manager, working together on the setup and ongoing maintenance of individualized Tessitura plans.

• Provide responsive and professional customer service to donation-related inquiries.

• Support gift officers with drafting agreements and the signing process through completion.

• Represent the Advancement team at donor-facing events and serve in the team rotation of hosting the Comcast Circles Lounge for Strathmore-Presents performances.

• Track, manage, refresh, and order Advancement team supplies.

• Support the Advancement team with administrative tasks and special projects as they arise.

As a strong candidate, you are:

• A spirited thinker who anticipates needs, contributes creative ideas, and proposes solutions with sound decision-making.

• Resourceful and self-directed, with a track record of investigating and resolving complex questions independently.

• A confident communicator, able to write and speak clearly and effectively across a range of audiences, with a willingness to ask questions.

• Conscientious, organized, and detail-oriented, with experience preventing and catching errors before they occur.

• Flexible in approach and demeanor, comfortable adapting to the shifting demands of a fast-paced environment.

• Curious and committed to continuous learning and staying current on industry best practices.

• Highly discreet and professional, with the ability to handle confidential information with integrity.

Your success entails:

• Ensuring accurate, detailed, and consistent work across all deliverables.

• Making timely, well-reasoned decisions grounded in analysis, experience, and sound judgment.

• Producing high-quality correspondence and materials efficiently and consistently.

• Troubleshooting challenges by listening carefully, drawing on available resources, and delivering practical solutions.

• Keeping meticulous records and files that support the needs of the entire department.

• Demonstrating a thorough understanding of the unique requirements for processing cash and non-cash assets, ensuring gift processing reflects the latest guidance.

• Displaying a high degree of dependability, reliability, and follow-through.

• Building and sustaining strong working relationships with teammates, volunteers, donors, and colleagues across the organization.